Electrical Enclosure News for Products and Services

Energy Efficient Means of Cooling Enclosures from Rittal

Now may be the time to investigate available solutions to the problem of overheating panels. Rittal have a large range of cooling products that will address the problem.

Rittal’s TopTherm fan-and-filter units are an energy efficient means of cooling enclosures but require a clean and cool environment to operate effectively. Air-to-air heat exchangers have separate internal and external air paths, preventing dirt and dust from entering the panel, but still require a cool ambient air to deliver the required cooling.

Cooling units also have separate air circuits but are capable of cooling the air inside an enclosure to a temperature lower than that of the ambient as well as maintaining a clean internal environment. In the case of thermoelectric coolers, the Peltier effect is used to deliver modest amounts of cooling, typically to small panels, offering a lightweight and compact solution. Units from the Rittal TopTherm Blue e range incorporate a refriger-ant circuit and so have larger nominal cooling capacities, up to 4 kW.

Air-to-water heat exchangers can maintain the air inside a panel at a temperature lower than that of the surrounding air and have an additional benefit of allowing heat to be dissipated remotely. Water is the cooling medium used to transport thermal energy to an alternative location, where it may be discharged without increasing the temperature in an already warm environment. To complete the chilled water system a Rittal chiller can be used to return the water to its’ original condition before recirculating to the heat exchanger.